Lead Sterile Processing Technician

Lead Sterile Processing Technician

Full Time, 80 Hours Per Pay Period, Night Shift

Fort Sanders Regional Overview:

Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is a 444-bed hospital recognized for pairing clinical expertise with advanced medical technology to deliver exceptional care. As a Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center, we provide leading-edge treatment for stroke recovery. Our facility also offers specialized services in bariatric surgery, robotic surgery, minimally invasive spine procedures, and advanced orthopedic care.

Fort Sanders Regional is part of Covenant Health, East Tennessee's largest nonprofit health system and a Becker's "Top 150 Places to Work in Healthcare." Covenant Health includes nine hospitals and nearly 150 service locations, offering employees a comprehensive benefits package with tuition reimbursement, student loan assistance, certification bonuses, and leadership development programs.

Position Summary:

Under the direction of department leadership, responsible for the proper decontamination, inspection, assembly, and high level disinfection and sterilization of surgical instruments. Operates processing equipment. Requires proficiency in instrument decontamination and assembly and knowledge of the sterilization methods available and which method is appropriate in correlation with the devices that are to be processed. They must be proficient in surgical case picking as well as endoscopy reprocessing. Serves as shift lead technician.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the lead technician of the shift for all instrumentation.
• Completes the shift report and verbally reports to the on-coming shift leader.
• Orientates new employees to specific duties of particular shifts. Will mentor and provide guidance and training as needed and will serve as backup in the absence of the department coordinator.
• Ensures that supervised staff are trained and evaluated.
• Decontaminates surgical instruments according to manufacturer's instructions or advised by the department leader. Will operate all decontamination equipment including washer disinfectors, ultrasonic cleaners, cart washer, and automatic endoscope reprocessor (AER).
• Inspects instruments after decontamination, ensuring all items are clean, intact, functional, and accounted for.
• Assembles trays in a manner that ensures device sterility and is easy for the end user to access for use. Uses count sheets to ensure trays are assembled accurately. Interfaces with the instrument tracking system for all functions of processing.
• Packages or containerizes instrument sets according to manufacturer's guidelines and Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) standards. Packages in a neat and proper technique ensuring easy aseptic opening in the operating room.
• Loads sterilizer carts in a way to ensure packaged items are not punctured or compromised, loads containers and wrapped goods as recommended
• Runs daily sterilizer tests on all steam and low temperature sterilizers.
• Operates sterilizer according to manufacturer's instruction ensuring load biological monitoring.
• Documents all load contents, interfaces load to tracking system, loads cycle confirming correct parameters, monitors sterilizer to tracking system information, records all pertinent information (biological, mechanical, and chemical).
• Unloads sterilizers, ensuring items are not compromised, and stores in correct location according to instrument tracking system storage locations.
• Follows endoscope manufacturer's processing instructions and accepted standards/guidelines.
• Prepares hospital requisitions as needed; monitors and communicates to management all items received from outside vendors.
• Answer phones and relays information with other employees and staff members.
• Inventories and orders par levels of instruments.
• Assists with maintaining departmental records and performs instrument and scope audits.
• Follows policies, procedures, and safety standards. Completes required education assignments annually. Works toward achieving goals and objectives, and participates in quality improvement initiatives as requested.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Education: None specified; however, must be sufficient to meet the standards for achievement of the below indicated license and/or certification as required by the issuing authority.

Minimum Experience: Minimum of two (2) years of surgical instrument or instrument technician experience. Experience in on-boarding, orientation, training and mentorship of new staff to all areas of sterile processing.

Licensure Requirement: IAHCSMM (International Association for Healthcare Material Management) as a Certified Registered Sterile Processing Technician (CRCST) or CBSPD (Certification Board for Sterile Processing Technicians) as a Certified Sterile Processing Distribution Technician (CSPDT) certification. Also, a secondary certification is required through IAHCSMM (International Association for Healthcare Material Management) as a Certified Instrument Specialist (CIS) or through CBSPD (Certification Board for Sterile Processing Technicians) as a Certified Surgical Instrument Specialist (CSIS) within 90 days of hire or promotion into the position.